Every guitarist knows what a pickup is, but not everyone is aware that there are two types of pickups: active and passive. What is the difference?
The pickup is so called by the principle of its action. It "picks" the sound from the strings and transmits it to the amplifier, almost like a microphone. However, the microphone can amplify other, completely unnecessary sounds, while the pickup is aimed only at the strings. After all, without the pickups, we would never have heard our fans at a rock concert.
Passive pickup
This type of pickup is commonly seen on electric and bass guitars. It converts the vibrations of the strings into an electrical signal and sends it to an amplifier. The fact is that such pickups send a weak, unprocessed, "raw" signal to the output. The shorter the cable through which the sound travels, the more legible and louder it will be. However, there are pluses: plugged in the cable and you can play right away.
Active pickup
The principle of operation of such a pickup is similar to the first. The only difference is that it amplifies the signal even in the case itself, sending the already strong, processed sound to the output. And nothing depends on the length of the cable. In such pickups, a battery must be installed, from which the preamplifier current will flow.
